Arguably, there is no other player who embodies the symbiosis between performance and style in tennis as impressively as Maria Sharapova. Now HEAD is offering the iconic Sharapova Style to female players around the world with a brand-new tennis racquet bag series designed by and for the three-time Grand Slam champion.

Together with Maria Sharapova, HEAD developed a bag series to satisfy women’s needs for functionality and style on the tennis court. The HEAD Maria Sharapova tennis racquet bags blend HEAD’s traditional technological innovation with personal style and design elements of the Russian tennis star.

The range consists of a unique tennis racquet Court bag, which Maria is currently carrying with her onto court at all tournaments, and a Combi bag. Both feature a compartment for six to eight racquets, adjustable, padded shoulder straps, an extra shoe sac and a detachable toiletry bag to be fully practical. Specially designed components like a jewellery sac, a golden brass metal plate carrying Maria’s name, a tassel at the front metal D-Ring, a blue inner lining with inspirational wordings and the golden embroidery of all HEAD logos are proof of Maria’s personal touch.

Maria’s input and involvement was crucial in the development of the racquet bags: "When it comes to fashion and style I'm a typical girl," says Maria. "Fashion is a big part of my life and I always want to look good. And just like every other girl I’m so into bags." Maria underlines that the design process with the HEAD was an outstanding collaboration, resulting in a tennis racquet bag line which she considers a personal style statement: "Tennis is a sport where you don't have to wear a big, chunky uniform, so fortunately I can wear things that I helped to design and really express myself through those things. When you go on the court it's very competitive and athletic. I have used that concept in colours and materials to add that extra personality in what we designed."

And the fusion of function and style in her equipment also supports Maria Sharapova in her performance on court: “It's very important for me to feel good, to look good when you're going onto the court. If you're comfortable with what you're wearing, with all you're carrying, it really helps the performance as well.”

To celebrate the new racquet bag collection as a tennis fashion statement, today HEAD launches a new short film highlighting Maria‘s involvement in the design process (http://www.youtube.com/headtennis). Furthermore, Maria’s and HEAD’s Facebook fans have the chance to win a unique Maria Sharapova Tennis Racquet Court bag signed by Maria in a bespoke sweepstake on http://www.facebook.com/headtennis.

The two HEAD Maria Sharapova tennis racquet bags will hit the stores around the world at the end of August, right in time for the US Open.